Farmer's Weekly 19 August 2022

The exporting of citrus fruit from South Africa into the EU has been a topic of debate for the European Commission (EC) for some time now. As reported by Farmer’s Weekly over the past few weeks, new regulations imposed on South African citrus being imported into the EU were recently published. These regulations have been implemented to prevent the importation of fruit from countries where false codling moth (FCM) is present, according to the EC. However, these rules came into effect almost immediately after publishing, giving exporters very little time to respond or prepare. As a result, citrus exports to the EU are currently up in the air, and industry stakeholders have warned that these new regulations will have a severe impact on citrus production in the country. Despite the EC’s…

“The expansion of trade in food and agriculture since the beginning of the 21st century has strengthened the interdependence of agrifood systems across the world. New players have emerged as important exporters in the global market while several countries depend on imports from other regions. More food and agricultural products cross borders and trade is facilitated by multilateral and regional agreements. The globalisation of food has provoked lively debates on what outcomes global markets generate and has raised significant concerns about the impact of trade on the environment, society, changing lifestyles and diets. Opponents to globalisation maintain that trade is harmful to sustainable development. Switching to locally produced food and reducing trade are seen by many as providing better environmental and social outcomes. Nevertheless, trade in food and agriculture has been an essential part…

The Online Field Guide Course offers a comprehensive introduction to field guiding. It covers all 17 FGASA Apprentice Field Guide modules, including theory reviews, workbook support, and theory assessments. The course is delivered by experienced instructors via live interactive lectures, which include videos, graphics, and quizzes. The syllabus covers a broad spectrum of subjects including ecology, animal behaviour and conservation management, amongst others. Email Roxanne Cragg at enquiries@ecotraining.co.za, or phone 013 752 2532. CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND EXPOS 16 TO 18 AUGUST South African Sugar Technologists’ Association Congress, ICC, Durban. Email sasta@sugar.org.za. 17 TO 18 AUGUST Southern Africa Conference, Century City Conference City, Cape Town. Email membershipsa@freshproduce.com. 29 AUGUST TO 2 SEPTEMBER Southern Africa’s Agri-Tech Trends and Technology, Pretoria. Visit africa-agri.co.za/#goingforward. COURSES AND TRAINING 15 TO 19 AUGUST Introduction to Poultry Production, Pretoria. Email Mpho Makhanya at makhanyam@arc.agric.za, or phone 012 672…

By planting fruit trees in North West, Sun City Resort is helping to simultaneously revive the province’s citrus industry, uplift unemployed youth, and fight climate change by reducing carbon emissions. In May this year, six unemployed young people from the Moses Kotane Local Municipality completed a 12-month Citrus Business Management learnership through the Citrus Academy, with Sun City sponsoring their transport and lunch packs. ‘OUR STRATEGY IS TO CREATE EMPLOYMENT AND REDUCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT’ “The aim is to have these learners, with their NQF Level 4 qualifications, continue to plant citrus trees and care for them, as well as learn tree pruning techniques from the Sun City Landscaping company,” says Lwazi Mswelanto, sustainability manager at Sun International. “Through this project, which has included the planting of 100 citrus trees at two schools –…

MOST POPULAR ON FARMERSWEEKLY.CO.ZA ANTI-RHINO-POACHING BATTLE PAYING OFF, DESPITE INCREASE IN KZN Rhino poachers are moving away from the Kruger National Park to private reserves, with KwaZulu-Natal suffering the most incidents so far this year. Read the full article at bit.ly/3SgHZgl, or scan here: Posted: 2 August 2022. Follow us at @FarmersWeeklySA FROM FACEBOOK @FarmersWeeklySA When FW posted a link to an article titled, ‘Agri-tech worker shortage could dampen growth, a few followers gave their views on the issue. Posted: 29 July 2022. READERS’ COMMENTS Moabi Serobatse: “These challenges can be addressed by merging commercial and emerging farmers.” Patrick Nyanga: “There’s no xenophobia here; our farmers simply aren’t employing South Africans first.” Siphiwe Ngwenya: “Hiring foreigners to exploit them … The danger of not hiring South Africans is crime; people would never resort to crime if they were working.” PHOTO OF THE WEEK Felieboo @Felieboo “Too…

In this article, a Mpumalanga farmer who was fairly new to banana production at the time explained the importance of irrigation when growing this crop on marginal land. Bananas can be grown commercially in marginal areas, provided that an adequate irrigation system is laid on, says Dave Elphick of the farm Althorpe, near Kaapmuiden in Mpumalanga. Elphick has proved over the past two years that this advice, given to him when he first enquired about growing this crop on his farm, is sound. For many years he grew vegetables as a supplement to his main crops of sugar cane and mangoes. But since the latter are harvested from about November to January in this region, he could never start planting vegetables before February in most years, which limited him to a short and…